


A Night Off

by thewightknight



Series: The Commander and the Inquisitor [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Drinking, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2686613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/pseuds/thewightknight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Varric asks for stories.  Cullen doesn't want to talk.  Varric insists, because Varric, and gets more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night Off

**Author's Note:**

> I'm only about 6 hours into Inquisition so far, so forgive me if I haven't gotten the characterizations quite right with my limited exposure. Also, slight (I think!) spoiler - I had to Google to find out what Varric's nickname for Cullen is, which was tricky because I was trying to avoid other spoilers. I hope I got it right - if not, let me know.
> 
> This takes place after the Warden dies defeating the archdemon in Origins (why it's tagged major character death). 
> 
> Stand-alone work, because I can't stand the Warden being dead.

They weren’t done, by any means. The breach still needed to be closed. There were other tasks ahead. But for once, there were no crises looming, no desperate pleas for help or rescue. For once, they were going to relax, dammit. Varric had procured a cask of ale, Bull had plunked it down right in the middle of the war table, over Cassandra’s protests, and the two of them had proclaimed it to be “a night off.”

It seemed to be a success. They were getting down to the dregs in the cask, and everyone had a happy glow. Varric had been prompting the group for stories, and after swearing that nothing related here would end up in one of his books, most everyone had obliged. Bull was the most forthcoming, of course, but everyone had contributed, and Eilrys didn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard.

Of them all, Cullen had been the least talkative. Varric had taken that personally and had been baiting him all evening. Their exchanges had been quiet for the most part, but there was a lull in the laughter and Varric’s next words were loud in the sudden hush.

“Come on, Curly. Don’t tell me there isn’t canoodling going on all the time in corners in the towers.” Cullen shook his head, raising his goblet for a drink, and noticed that everyone had overheard. He flushed, cheeks bright red, noticeable even in the firelight

“Look at that!” Varric crowed. “You’re blushing! Okay, who was she? Or he? Out with it, Curly.” 

Bull chimed in. “You know he won’t stop until you spill, so you might as well just give up now and tell us.” 

Cullen shook his head again, and Bull started banging his tankard on the table, causing Cassandra to roll her eyes. “Tell! Tell! Tell! Tell!” Cullen shot a pleading look at Eilrys, but she shrugged. Once Varric got the scent of a story there was no stopping him. Dorian joined in with Bull, banging his goblet (draining it first, of course), and even Solas raised an eyebrow. 

The blush had spread all the way to his ears, except the mood had shifted, Eilrys sensed. Cullen had gone from embarrassed to angry. He shoved his chair back from the table and stood. “Fine. You want to know? Here’s a story for you.” He drained the rest of his goblet in one swallow and started talking, slowly at first, then then words poured out, overflowing the room as he paced. 

“She was an apprentice at the tower. Her eyes were like the sea and her smile warmed you better than any fire on a winter night. She had an amazing talent, like none of the senior enchanters had ever seen, and she said it was a gift of the Maker and she laughed when she learned a new spell or mastered a new skill. She came to find me after her Harrowing. I was supposed to give the killing blow. I told her this, and she kissed me, and then she went straight from my arms and helped a blood mage escape the tower and left afterwards with a Grey Warden to help fight against the Blight. I saw her again, one more time, after she cleared the Ferelden Tower of abominations, and the last words I spoke to her were hateful and cruel, and then she died killing the archdemon and I never go to take them back, never got to tell her that I loved her.” He stopped, and you could tell by how carefully he set his goblet down on the table that he wanted to throw it against the wall, and by how deliberately he walked to the door that he wanted to run, and by how carefully he opened and closed the door that he wanted to rip it from its hinges and slam it shut again.

There was silence after he left, with the group staring either at the closed door or at Cullen’s goblet, with the stem now slightly bent, sitting on the war table. Finally, Bull broke the quiet. “Wow, Varric. Way to break the mood.”

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this Origins mod:](http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1949/?)  
>   
> (yes, I like this mod!)
> 
> Also, see Eilrys[ here](http://thewightknight.tumblr.com/post/103340839583/tumblr-meet-eilrys-eilrys-meet-tumblr)  
> Feel free to come say hi over on [tumblr](http://thewightknight.tumblr.com/).


End file.
